On the vast and magnificent eastern coastline of the motherland, there is a quiet seaside city named Binhai City. It has beautiful scenery, high economic level, slow pace of life, and no large industrial enterprises nearby, making it a good place to live.
In this city with a perfunctory name, there is a little-known pet shop.
In the early morning, a taxi stopped in front of the pet shop. Zhang Zian got out of the car, took out the trolley case from the trunk, and thanked the taxi driver.
The taxi disappeared at the end of the street, Zhang Zian took a breath of the slightly salty air, and looked up at the signboard of the pet shop: Qiyuan Pet Shop.
The shutter door of the pet shop was closed, and a notice on A4 paper was pasted on the door. There were only four large characters on the notice: temporarily closed.
He took off the notice without hesitation, crumpled it up and stuffed it into his pocket, because he was the one who pasted this notice.
If you take a closer look at his face, you will find that he has serious dark circles and bloodshot eyeballs. It is obvious that he has not had a good rest for several days and his mood is very low.
He took out the key, unlocked it, and then pulled up the shutter door, revealing the floor-to-ceiling glass door of the pet shop.
He unlocked the second lock on the glass door and pushed the door open. Since the door hadn't been opened for several days, the air in the room was very dull. He fully opened the two glass doors and walked in with the suitcase.
"Home." He murmured.
The pet store was very quiet, no cats barking, no dogs barking, no birds singing, no fish jumping, it was as silent as a grave, only some empty cages and display boxes, and some uncleaned cat litter and bird droppings scattered in the cages, There was a slight smell, and everything indicated that the owners and pets had left in a hurry.
At that moment, Zhang Zian seemed to see the busy and lively scene of the pet shop in the past, and the concerto composed of the sounds of various pets echoed day and night... He shook his head, put the memories behind him, and carried the trolley case along the way. Up the stairs to the second floor.
Back in his previous room, he opened the window to ventilate, then took out the black and white portrait of his parents from the trolley case, placed it neatly on the desk, clasped his hands together, and prayed silently to the portrait.
Not long after Zhang Zian graduated from university, he had just found a fairly suitable job in other places, when he received the bad news that his parents had been involved in a car accident one night. As if struck by lightning, he hurried back to Binhai City. His father died on the spot in the car accident, and his mother was also seriously injured. After several days of rescue in the ICU ward, he passed away unfortunately.
This pet shop is the only legacy left to him by his parents.
After Zhang Zian rushed back, he saw his mother for the last time, and his mother looked at him anxiously, and said in a weak voice: "Zian, the pets in the store..."
He understood what his mother meant. The pets in the shop had not been taken care of for several days. Same as his mother. In order to rush back to the hospital to accompany his mother, he can only dispose of these pets as soon as possible. If he can sell them, he will sell them at a low price. If no one buys them for the time being, he will give them away.
After rushing back to the hospital, he told his mother: "The pets are fine, don't worry." Then his mother held his hand and passed away with a smile.
After that, it was an exhausting funeral. Zhang Zian didn't know what to do. Fortunately, some enthusiastic neighbors and friends of his parents came to help, and relatives came from other places. To the cemetery.
During this period, Zhang Zian has been living in the small hotel next to the hospital, and has not returned here until today.
Qiyuan Pet Store has two floors, the first floor is a store, and the second floor is a residence. Although the area is small, it is the crystallization of parents' years of hard work.
Now Zhang Zian has two choices, one is to sell or rent out the shop and cherish the hard-won job, the other is to stay in Binhai City and inherit this pet shop.
Although his parents run a pet shop, just like other parents, they are afraid of affecting his studies and do not allow him to participate in the daily operation of the pet shop, so he has almost no idea how to run a pet shop.
Reason told him that he should choose the first path.
His stomach was growling and he hadn't eaten properly for a few days, so he decided to find a breakfast stall to fill his stomach before thinking about the problem. He asked the company for a month's leave, and there are still a few days left, so there is no need to make a hasty decision. When hungry, people's decisions are often irrational.
After going downstairs, Zhang Zian saw a small figure flashing beside the floor-to-ceiling glass door.
Is there a thief
But what can a thief steal? I'd be happy if the cat litter was stolen, saving me the hassle of cleaning it up. He thought with a wry smile.
"Who is it?" he asked, raising his voice.
A girl with two braids was standing next to the door, poking her head out, and asked timidly, "Is that...open...is the door open?"
The girl was wearing a little yellow hat and carrying a pink schoolbag. She looked about seven or eight years old. Her eyes are wide open, her knees are bent, and with her two braids, she looks like a frightened little white rabbit who has encountered a big bad wolf and is about to run away at any moment.
Zhang Zian didn't expect a customer to come so early, he thought for a while and said, "The door is open, please come in."
But the little girl didn't come in right away, and asked with some confusion: "Aren't uncle and aunt here? The door hasn't been opened for a long time... Did someone change?"
He pondered for a while, then said: "There is no change, those are my father and my mother."
"Oh." Now the little girl was relieved.
When Zhang Zian came in just now, he didn't turn on the light, and the morning sun hadn't yet entered the store, so it was still quite dark from the outside to the inside.
She walked into the store and looked at the empty cages and display cases in surprise, "Hey! Where are the pets? Where are the pets?"
"It was sold or given away a while ago, don't you know?" Zhang Zian said. The store was very lively that day. After all, the price was very cheap, not even the cost price, or even free.
The little girl shook her head, "I don't know. I don't allow pets at home. I only have to visit here every morning before school and after school in the afternoon. Uncle and aunt are very nice. Although I don't buy them, they never drive me away..."
"That's right..." Zhang Zian suddenly felt that he didn't fully understand his parents, such as why they love pets so much.
"Does it mean that pets will not be sold here in the future?" The little girl pursed her lips tightly and looked at him with sad eyes.
Zhang Zian thought for a while.
"Sell! Of course sell! You can come back in a few days." He said with a smile.
"Great!" The little girl jumped up happily, "I'm going to school first! Goodbye, Brother Store Manager!"
The store manager... He sighed in his heart, and it turned out that the decisions he made while hungry were irrational.